The Big Bang Theory: 10 Best Albert Einstein References, Ranked
The main characters of The Big Bang Theory were all geniuses. The show had a lot of fun using the biggest of all as a reference - Albert Einstein!
For a sitcom littered with science themes, it’s no surprise that legendary German-born physicist Albert Einstein gets referenced a couple of times. While Leonard, Raj, Bernadette, Amy, and Howard revere the man, the proud and boastful Sheldon often alternates between praising him and criticizing him.
Sheldon is justified in his occasional lack of respect for Einstein since he has a confirmed IQ of 187 while the physicist had an estimated IQ of 160. Just as Einstein’s contribution to science went done in history, Sheldon’s contribution to entertainment might be remembered for a while too.
Sheldon Refuses To Go To Work
Sheldon is never pleased whenever he finds out that there is a smarter person out there than him. When he is forced to work with rival Barry Kripke on a grant proposal for a new fusion reactor, Kripke’s paper ends up being much better than his. Kripke then mocks him, telling him he isn’t thinking straight because he is having too much sex.
The next day, Leonard consoles him, assuring him that even Albert Einstein messed up at first. Sheldon then discredits Einstein, telling Leonard that Einstein’s inventions were only considered groundbreaking because no one knew anything at the time.
Dr. Cooper Gets All The Backlash
Sheldon’s guest lecture to a bunch of smart doctoral Physics students doesn’t go particularly well. Later, the gang has a fun time reading tweets by students who didn’t enjoy the lecture at all.
In their tweet, one of the students wonders if one of Einstein’s theories gives an explanation on why time flies when one is having fun but when listening to Dr. Cooper, time literally stops flying and falls out of the sky. This is perhaps the shadiest burn to come from a random character.
Leonard’s Cosplay
During a Halloween party, Penny decides to dress as a sexy cop, much to Leonard’s delight. Leonard, on the other hand, dresses up as Albert Einstein. He even gets a wig and spectacles.
When Bernadette starts questioning Penny about her costume, Leonard adopts a German accent and states that Penny is going to arrest him for going faster than the speed of light. It’s a slightly hilarious joke but Penny is angered by it because she and Leonard have a “no accents” rule and he has broken it.
The Gang Gets Tired Of Chauffering Sheldon Around
Sheldon initially considers driving a time-wasting activity. He thus relies on his friends to drive chauffeur him around. One morning, he tries to get Leonard to drive him as he returns his uncomfortable Star Wars sheets but Leonard is too tired. He tries Penny who reluctantly agrees. During the drive, he lectures Penny too much and as a result, she kicks him out of the car.
Raj later drives him but is forced to kick him out too. The gang then unanimously decides that Sheldon needs to get a driver’s license. He refuses, arguing that Einstein survived just fine without one. Penny counters, arguing that Einstein wasn’t annoying enough to make people want to kick him in the nuts.
A Photo Of The 1911 Solvay Conference
Keen on transferring his consciousness to a robotic body so that he can live forever, Sheldon builds a robotic replication of himself called the Mobile Virtual Presence Device (MVPD). Penny dubs it the Shelbot.
Sheldon tries to play a game with Leonard using the MVPD but he isn’t interested. To make things interesting, he shows him a picture of the 1911 Solvay Conference, where scientists discussed the theory of quanta and radiation. He claims that he has used Photoshop to introduce 24 different anachronisms and asks Leonard to spot them. One of the men seen in the picture is Albert Einstein.
Leonard’s ‘Crush’ Problem
Leonard hasn’t had many love interests in his life, so it comes as a shock to him when Alex develops a crush on him. During a lunch session at the cafeteria, he asks Howard, Sheldon, and Raj what he should do about it since he is seeing Penny. A part of him is glad that two women like him at the same time.
Since the boys are no experts on love matters, Sheldon goes to Amy, Penny, and Bernadette for advice. He tries to use the “I am asking for a friend” trick by claiming that the three parties involved go by the names Tondelaya della Ventimiglia, Ricardo Shilly-shally, and Doctor Einstein von Brainstorm. Nice try! The girls figure out he is lying.
Sheldon Is A ‘Woser’
More often than not, Sheldon’s pals become fed up with his sense of superiority and go on to sabotage him. That’s what happens when he is too enthusiastic about research he did at the North Pole. Leonard, Raj, and Howard tamper with his data, causing him embarrassment at the Physics department.
Kripke takes this as the perfect opportunity to mock him but Sheldon argues that there is no failure in science since one experiment that Einstein dubbed a failure turned out to be his biggest win. Kripke explains to Sheldon how Einstein’s experiment was very different from his. And since he pronounces ‘L’ as ‘W,’ he declares that Sheldon is still a ‘woser.”
The Bobblehead
Amy becomes quite insecure when Sheldon hires graduate student Alex Jensen to be his new assistant. She tells Penny that any woman who sees Sheldon’s face 8 hours a day would definitely fall in love with him.
To mark her territory, she stops by Sheldon’s office but doesn’t find him. She concludes that the best way to prevent Sheldon from forgetting her is by leaving her scent on various items. She thus starts grabbing things and rubbing them under her armpits. One of those things happens to be an Albert Einstein bobblehead.
Sheldon Concludes That Sex Is A Distraction
Relationships are a great part of the show but Sheldon doesn’t think love and intimacy should be prioritized. Around the time Sheldon ‘invents’ three-person chess, he calls out his friends for focussing too much on their love lives. Leonard argues that even Einstein had a very good sex life. He didn’t just focus on work.
Sheldon has a differing opinion. According to him, Einstein never got to unifying gravity with other forces because he was too busy having sex. And if he wasn’t so promiscuous, he’d have invented the time machine.
The Opening Montage
A lot of fans normally wait impatiently for the opening theme to end so that they can get right into the jokes. Those watching on Netflix can just skip the theme. However, plenty of creativity and detail go into the intro.
The photo-montage shows various interesting images such as Mammoths, San cave drawings, Pyramids of Giza, Parthenon on the Acropolis, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Joan of Arc, and the Vitruvian Man. Most importantly, there is an image of Albert Einstein from the Israeli 5 lira note.
